IPPNW students created Project Target X to raise awareness of the direct threat posed by nuclear weapons in cities around the world. With thousands of nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert and increased tensions around the world, the threat of nuclear war is higher now than ever before, including at the height of the Cold War. From Southern Australia to Northern Canada, from the Amazon to the Himalayas, this project has been able to reach tens of thousands of people so far. View our Target X gallery.
Target X can reach more people than an average seminar or conference. People who pass by a Target X installation are drawn in by the group of white-coat medical students surrounding a large red “X” painted on the central square of the city. This is the perfect time to hand out pamphlets, materials, and engage with your city’s residents.
Stay on this page to learn how to plan an installation in your city. Target X gives IPPNW student chapters the ability to speak with their community members, engage potential new members, and host an effective, media-attractive project. This is a great first activity for new IPPNW student chapters. Join our global campaign today!
How to organize a Target X event
Assemble a team. Start by gathering an engaged group in your IPPNW student chapter, you may also wish to include the local IPPNW affiliate and/or other peace groups in your region or university. Once you have a team assembled, whether it’s a handful of dedicated people or a Facebook group of 200 participants, you can begin planning Target [name of your city].
Preparations:
- Pick a spot in your city center, ideally one which receives a lot of pedestrian traffic and has some sort of symbolism to it, and pick a date, preferably a weekend, for the installation. Get permission from the City to hold the demonstration at the decided location and date.
Target Helsinki, 2014 - Organize red paint, tape, chalk or anything else to make the red X with, and gather tables or boards to use to distribute your materials.
- Consult a platform (like Outrider) to see the result of a nuclear explosion in your city.
- Take a screenshot of the results to print and circulate or print out a map of your city and draw concentric circles around the city to represent the explosion. Make an ample amount of copies to circulate.
- Be sure you’re up-to-date on nuclear weapons-related facts. Circulate this information with all other Target X organizers and participants.
- Gather white coats to wear for the installation, this will emphasize the installation’s connection to medical students.
- Contact the media (newspapers, radio stations, etc.) about your event to get coverage.
- Encourage all participants to take photos and circulate them with the organizers after. Remember – documentation is important for follow-up tasks!
The day of:
- Show up before your pre-designated time to set up tables, material, pass out white coats (if necessary, and most importantly, draw or place the red “X”
- Come ready to answer people’s questions related to the installation, the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, what a nuclear explosion would mean for your city, the cost of nuclear weapons, etc.
- Consider having a statement, letter, or pledge people can sign onto.
- Don’t be afraid to approach people with your message – hand out flyers and make people aware of future events related to nuclear disarmament in your region.
- Remember to take photos!
After the installation:
- Write up a short description of your event and compile all of the photos to share with your chapter, social media, and network.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact IPPNW’s International Medical Student Representatives, Franca Brüggen and Kelvin Kibet.